Elaina Solo
by Kristenkooistra
Summary: Follow Han Solo's little sister through her childhood. Born a girl in a man's world Elaina Solo must learn to survive even with all the odds against her. Struggling to not only survive but excel, she slowly makes her way to the top.
1. Title Page

S The Years of The purple blade

T The crystal is born

A

R Elaina Solo

W

A

R

S


	2. Prologue

1/13/2005 **Elaina Solo** Written by

Kristen Crofoot

Prolouge.

1252

A ship crept through space heading toward a cluster of planets. The dark figure at the helm steered the starship toward the main planet, Corellia. It was a smugglers haven. Neither the rapidly growing Empire or the dwindling Republic had control over it. Making it a perfect hiding place.

The soul occupant of the starship cloaked itself, picked up a basket, and disembarked.

The cloaked shadow had one stop to make before it reached its final destination. The figure slipped into a jewelers and ten minutes later walked back out.

If anyone had looked out their window they would have seen a dark shadow slipping across the walls. It's destination, the slums of Corellia.


	3. Rebel Child

**Rebel Child**

1258

From the very beginning Elaina's parents knew she was different from other girls. Her mother had a hard time keeping an eye on her. Ever since she had been old enough to walk Elaina had loved to tag along after her older brother Han. He hated having his little sister tagging after him.

"Mom all the guys will make fun of me if I always have Elaina following me," whined Han, "Besides she's a girl. Girls can't do anything boys do."

"I can do anything you can Han Solo, and better," declared the determined five year-old.

"Han, you can take her with you," said their mother, "and if you can't deal with that, then you can stay home with her."

In the end Han took Elaina with him. As they walked to the spaceball field Han was trying to think of a way to explain Elaina. As he approached the field he knew trouble was brewing.

Elaina had never been so excited. She had no friends and was hoping that Han friends would be hers to. She had never really fit in with the girls in her neighborhood or at school.

"Hey, Han who's that?" said Trave.

"That's his little sister," said Lando.

"Sheesh Han, why the heck did you bring your baby sister?" asked Cal.

"Ahh she won't cause any trouble," replied Han, "She can just sit on the sidelines and watch."

"But I want to play. If you don't let me play Han Solo I'll tell mom and then you'll have to stay home next time," cooed Elaina.

"Great, just what we needed" said Shane.

"Hey, guys I have an idea" exclaimed Han, "Lets let her practice with us and if she's really bad she has to promise never to bug us about it again."

"And if she isn't?" questioned Trave.

"Then why not let her play?" replied Han.

"Hello! She's a girl. What are you thinking?" asked Cal.

"Cool it guys, what's the chances of a six year-old girl doing good at a boy's game. Besides we're all three to five years older. Let's give her a chance" said Lando.

"Fine, but if she stinks she's out, for good. Got it?" said Trave.

"Yeah, what do you say Elaina?" asked Lando.

"Fine with me. As long as you guys promise to be fair," said Elaina.

"No problem," replied Cal.

"Hey wait a minute. What are we going to do about that mane? She can't play with her hair like that."

"Her mom thinks she's a doll," sighed Lando.

"Well instead of standing around discussing it why don't you blockheads do something about it," snapped Elaina.

"She's your sister Han. You do something," Trave said, "and hurry up we don't have all day."

Sighing, Han looked at Elaina's hair and shook his head. It was obvious that she couldn't play with her hair the way it was. It would be falling out within minutes. His mom hadn't created the updo for any activity excpet for walking. Slowly he unraveled her hairdo 'til it came tumbling down her shoulders. Then he proceeded to put her hair into two pigtails.

"All right you guys, there you go. Take it our leave it. I didn't sign on to be a hairdresser you know," snapped Han.

Han had to learn all kinds of strange and exotic hairstyles. After taking a good tongue lashing from his mother about "messing" up Elaina's hair he decided to learn how to do her hair so that he could change it back to normal before the two of them went home. Han made Elaina swear that she wouldn't tell a soul about the hair styling.

"All right Spies, lets go play ball," said Trave.

That was how Elaina got linked with the boys. She was their star player and helped them time and time again to defeat their archrivals, the Devilfish. She became like a little sister to them and as their little sister, they seemed to find it their duty that Elaina knew everything they knew.

They taught her how to run fast, climb over any barrier using just a grappling hook, how to shoot a blaster, be fast on her draw, talk smooth, drive all kinds of starships, cuss, and they also installed a cocky attitude fit for a smuggler(which was their goal in life).

But there was something else they gave her, a hatred. A strange hatred. A hatred that had been prophesied a long time ago. A hatred for men. Elaina knew that if she wasn't useful to her "brothers" she would not be accepted any more as one of them.

Watching from afar was a strange man leaning against a tree. Dressed all in black, his cloak was pulled up over his face. He scrutinized the young girl who was very determined to prove herself. As he slowly walked away, he knew that he would be keeping an eye on this one.


	4. The Beginning of the End

**The Beginning of the End**

1263

12 year old Elaina and 16 year old Han were preparing to leave for there big game. Their team had risen in status since there childhood game. This game would determine the champion team of all Corellia. This game was important to Corellians. It taught there young men the skills that they would need to survive.

Now it might seem strange that so young a team had made it to the championship game. So I'll explain. Twenty percent of the galaxies smugglers came from Corellia. So most of the men between sixteen and eighteen left the planet to start their career. So the oldest players on a team would be around fifteen. Which all of Elaina's fellow teamates were.

"Well I guess this will probably be our last time playing," said Han.

"Why? said Elaina.

"Well, Dez, Ayur, and Cor sent in application papers to the Dabu smuggling ring. So they'll be leaving in two weeks if they get accepted. Shane has got a girl and by the looks of it they'll probably be getting hooked before winter. Cal and Trave are going to start their own smuggling ring next spring. Lando and I don't know our plan yet, but somewhere along the line we're planning on starting our own smuggling line."

You'll be the only one left. You could hook up with a team your age. That is, if they let you join. And most guys won't want a girl on their team. Your chances will be even harder considering you haven't been with them since the start," said Han.

"How come I can't go with you and Lando? Besides aren't you always telling me about how all those boys are just filled with hot air?" questioned Elaina.

"Come on Elaina, It's time you grew up. Most guys leave Corellia at our age. What do you expect us to do? Sit around and play spaceball with you for the rest of our lives? And no, you can't go with Lando and me. Maybe mom's right" said Han.

"Right about what?" said Elaina, trepidation slowly filling her.

"You've been hanging out with us guys so long that you think you are one of us" replied Han.

"What's wrong with that? And I make just as good a boy as you do.And if you guys leave then what am I going to do?" said Elaina, beginning to get more then a little exasperated.

"Hello, you are going to go do what ninety percent of girls do" said Han.

"You just stop right there Han Solo..." said Elaina.

"NO, you just listen. You want to know what you are going to do. You are going to be a mother of a bunch of little snot-nosed brats or..." yelled Han.

"Han I'm warning you!" cried Elaina. "You dratted cretin."

"You are going to be a Twilek" said Han.

A long moment of silence stretched between them. Han thinking that he couldn't believe that she wouln't have realized this before or at least resigned herself to it.

Elaina slowly and soundlessly turned and quietly walked out of the room.

She went outside and climbed the big tree in the backyard. As she sat on her branch she thought about what had just happened. She had always knew that she was a girl and what the females of Corellia did for a living. However the subject had never been addressed. Until now. It had taken every bit of training to turn and walk out of that room. She knew that yelling and picking a fight with her brother would have only confirmed in his mind the fact that girls can't control their temper and therefore were not qualified to be smugglers.

She had never felt so confused. She wanted to do something exciting, which did not involve being a mother. On the other hand she would sooner die than be a twilek. Not being a real twilek she would've had to wear a set of lekkú and have to paint her skin, but she could still be one. Most girls did that. Deep down she had been hoping that Han and Lando would take her with them. Though now she realized that it wasn't going to happen.

She tried to focus on something positive, like the upcoming game. The captain of the Slayers was Suul. No one knew his real name. No one knew anything about him. He had originally been on the Devilfish team, but his talent caught the eye of the Slayers and he had eventually been made captain. He harbored a deep grudge against Elaina and this was his time to put the strongwilled girl in her place. Elaina knew this, which only made her more determined to win.

Elaina's mind switched over to a new thought that made her groan. One name, Thrackan Sal-Solo. Her cousin was coming for a visit after the game. Han was a jerk, but Thrackan was just plain evil. Another reason Elaina hated him was because he was the only person who could beat her in any game, sport, or talent test (fighting, shooting, flying,etc.).

"Elaina, come on we're going to be late!" yelled Han.

Elaina leapt out of the tree and ran to the porch to join her brother. They walked to the stadium in silence. As they neared the field Lando ran up to them.

"Well look who finally decided to show up. Hey, what's up or down rather?"

"Elaina just learned something today and it's making her crabby."

"For your information I've not learned anything new. Thanks for the concern" she snapped. "You piece of bantha fodder."

"Oh yeah..."

"Guys chill. Sorry I asked, but Trave isn't to happy about you being late."

"Tell me something I don't know" griped Elaina.

"Ok, lets go play ball" said Han.

"Hey guys, how nice of you to decide to show up. What's the matter, the time not good enough for your royal highnesses" mocked Trave.

"Not now Trave. I already have enough problems without adding your smart mouth to the list" sighed Elaina.

Even before they were halfway into the game it was obvious to both teams that something was up. So far Elaina hadn't hit a single ball. Even though Suul, who was the pitcher for the Slayers, was good, he knew that Elaina usually hit most of his balls. Han played Second Postion, G Lvl. and was also doing terrible.

During halftime Trave confronted them.

"Alright I don't know what you two's problem is but you better get it straightened out soon. We've been waiting for this game for years and we don't need you guys spoiling it."

"Look, I'll be fine once Han takes back what he said this morning."

"**I **don't need to apologize for stating the truth."

"Alright you two listen. Elaina get that chip off your shoulder. And Han lay off her."

"Yeah this is our last chance to play together and lets make it something that not only we'll remember, but all of Corellia" said Cal.

"Alright everybody in" yelled Trave.

"ONE, TWO, THREE TEAM."

"Lets go teach those Slayers a lesson they'll never forget" cried Lando.

As Elaina headed out she glanced a cloaked figure watching. She had discovered him watching her one day and proceeded to see him, it seemed, everytime the boys and her went out. About a week ago he had approached her with a curious offer. She thought about the odd scene.

She had been repairing her ship after one of her recent modifications had malfunctioned. She felt a tingle crawl up the back of her spine. Whirling around she found herself face-to-face with a by now familiar form. It was the strange man who was always watching her, even though she was in a group she felt that it was her he was surveying. She felt a little trapped, none of the guys were around and this man had never come this close before. Figuring that her best plan was to stay where she was and hope he didn't plan on talking to her, though she had the sinking feeling that would be the case.

Stopping in front of her, a low and quiet voice said, "Elaina Solo." It was more of a statement then a question.

"What's it to yah," drawled Elaina. Leaning back trying to appear nonchalant.

An hour later after explaining his purpose, the man said, "You have two weeks to make your choice."

"How will I contact you?"

"I'll be around," was the calm reply.

Silently the man walked away. Elaina leaned back exhaling slowly. Suddenly her life seemed to be closing in on her. Packing up her tools, she thought about the choices that lay ahead of her. Here was the opportunity that she had been looking for, a chance to excel. Still doing something on her own was new for Elaina and she was a little nervous.

Sighing she locked up her ship and headed home. Passing a dark alcove, she didn't see the figure hiding in it.

Watching the young girl stride home, Jian smiled. She would be back he knew. Then he would prove to himself, since no one else cared., that cruelty wasn't the only way to make a good fighter.

Elaina snapped herself back to the present. Grabbing a jetpack she strapped it on, ignited it, and flew to the Fourth Platform on G Lvl. Fourth Platform was the second best postion. Covering not only her assigned level in Section Drie, she also was the player who covered all of Section Vier. Since there was only one level in Section Vier only one player from the Fourth Platform could enter that section.

Landing she felt another burst of anger. This time concerning an entirely different matter. She knew that she was the best player by far. Yet Trave still held the best position. Just because he was the original captain didn't mean that he still had to have the leading position. Usually this didn't bother her so much. After all she was probably more noticed here then on the Central Platform. Everyone expects the Central player to be good, that is why he is there after all. So when the player on the Fourth Platform is an excellent player to the point where people wonder if they are better than the captain, you can get a good deal of attention. Besides she rather liked her position. The stress of life had been pressing hard upon her and she was feeling uptight and ready to strike at anyone.

She paced back and forth on her platform. On ordinary days she would be scaling the shaft while she waited, but today she was to wound up.

Finally stopping at taking a deep breath she sat down and looked at her datapad. The first player was almost to the Second Platform and the second somewhere in between the First and Second Platform(Section Eén). Why where the idiots stopping to radio the players coordinates? Shaking her head in disgust she muttered, "Men."

Taking her mind off the moment, a manuever that she had been practicing lately, she thought about spaceball in general.

Spaceball appeared to be a complex game at first sight, but once you learned the ropes it was quite simple. There was at least 21 players per team. There were 5 levels, and three people per level. The Central Player is the same on all 5 lvls. The team on the "field" was the defending team and the team "running" was the offensive team. There is 4 different sections that a runner must cross in order to get through the entire field. Each section that is completed is counted as one point. Finishing an entire circuit was worth ten points.

When someone arrived at a platform their cordinates were sent to all the opposing players. This way all the players knew between what two points each player was at. The defending team was allowed to sent the exact current location of the runner. The only problem with this was that it took up time to send the coordinates and by then the runner had moved and the defending team only knew the general location of the runner.

Section Eén is entirely jungle, Section Tway is plat(check spelling), Section Drie is water, except for the first level. The first level was over the water and the player who defended that section wore a jetpack and the runner was also given one. This was the only section where the jetpack could be used and if the runner or the player used it anywhere else they would lose it for the rest of the game. If the runner decided not to use his jetpack it was to be discarded upon entering Section Drie(so that it wouldn't get wet). Lastly came Section Vier, completly enveloped in darkness this was considered the hardest section to navigate. Without any equipment, the runner must cross this section(with various obstacles in the way) without being caught.

In some mysterious way, Elaina seemed to be able to navigate this course with ease. Though the course constantly changed in order to keep the game challenging, Elaina was able to cover section Vier as if she had been born doing it. As uncanny as it was, the team found this skill extremely valuable and chose to overlook the oddness of it. Being able to do this was possibly the main reason that Elaina had been accepted onto the team in the first place. The other skills she quickly aquired as time went on.

A beep shook Elaina from her brooding. Sighing with a mixture of relief and a weariness that seemed far beyond something someone her age should feel, Elaina prepared herself.

Her datapad showed that Klfon, the first runner, was now in Section Drie. Instead of taking off as most of her team members would do, Elaina pondered her strategy first. Having played agianst this team several times before, she knew most of the players well and could guess what their next move would be. Klfon, quiet, reserved, and cautious. More then likely he would try to come at her platform from a round about way. On the other hand there was always the potential for the players to do the opposite of what they normally do just to suprise the defending team.

Most games Elaina would have looked to see on lvl. he'd come in on and check out how the rest of the game was going to see what would most likely be his plan. This time she didn't. Elaina didn't want to lose, but there is something about anger that drives a person to act different then what is expected. Taking off into the still water, she swam casually not anticipating anything. More then likely Klfon wouldn't come on her lvl. Smiling sardonically, she thought,"Most won't." They weren't dumb and they knew that she was good. They wouldn't foolishly risk it. Most times not even Suul would tread on her area and vice versa.

A few minutes before the game was done, Elaina knew that she was in for it. Her lax additude had been her undoing. She had been making multiple mistakes. Since she didn't have very many people to deal with in Section Drie she spent her time otherwise. Her uncanny skill to know where a player was most likely to go was used during most games. She used her time keeping the other players on their toes and informed them where the runners would probably go. This game was different, not spending much time deciphering, Elaina had been giving out information that was for the most part faulty. Her teammates eventually stopped listening to her advice and began winging it.

Then he came, Suul, cool, collected, silent, and undaunted. Upon entering Section Drie he proceeded to swim through Elaina's lvl. This was something she hadn't been prepared for. Seething with rage, Elaina wasn't even in the water at the time. She was arguing via comlink with Han, who'd been berating her about her playing(even though he wasn't doing much better).

"Elaina? Elaina! ELAINA SOLO!" Shouted Trave.

"Yeah, that's my name. Don't wear it out!" snarled a surly Elaina.

"Suul's headed your way. He's directly in your lvl. Where the heck are you!"

Dread washed over Elaina, she was in no position, physically, emotionally, or mentally, to be taking on Suul at the moment.

Suul made it through the course without a single hitch. Managing to evade Elaina in Section Drie, he left her far behind and went through Section Vier without any hindrance. Securing the victory of the Slayers.

The game finally ended. The Spies suffered a humiliating defeat. They hurried off the field as fast as they could. Except for Elaina who simply slumped to the ground out on the fifth level where she had been placed after the fourth section. She knew that the team would blame her for the loss, but that wasn't all Thrackan would probably hear of it and she wouldn't be suprised if the Slayers rubbed it in either.

She looked up and saw the whole team(except for Suul) down to her. She so did not feel like having a word battle with them.

"Hey girl, thanks for the great game. You're the biggest competion I've seen since kindergarten" sneered Klfon.

"Yeah, my grandmother can play better than that. What did you think this game was, cooking class?" questioned Lojet.

"Lay off you cretins." Trave, who'd followed them, growled. Originally he had planned on bawling Elaina out, but seeing her surrounded by the Slayers he felt his anger rise. No matter how bad Elaina played he still felt protective of her. The difference between him yelling at her and the Slayers was that they were just trying to be nasty.

"Oh, whats the matter Trave. Don't like us picking on your girl?" jibed Nebomni.

"Dang you blasted male, I ain't his girl" Elaina growled.

When Elaina got mad she drawled and the madder she got the deeper and more apparent it got. Now was one of those times.

She knew why she hadn't played well. She was steamed up about Han and hadn't been concentrating.

"I should feel bad for wrecking their game and I probably should apologize. But I don't, and it's his fault anyway," she thought. Deep down she knew that wasn't wholly true, but it helped to have someone else to pin the blame on, sorta.

She whirled away and stormed towards the woods in the first quarter. That way she wouldn't have to go past the gang. Reaching the edge of the woods she reached for one of the low hanging vines and started up. Reaching G Level she headed the back way towards home.

Elaina heard someone following her and spun around to face Suul. Neither one said a word and Elaina continued to walk with Suul one step behind her. When she finally arrived on her street she stopped and turned. Suul looked at her, tipped his head in acknowledgment, and turning strolled away. Elaina watched him go and silently thanked him for understanding. Something that no one, not even Han or her parents did.

Continuing up her street she wondered why Suul hadn't said anything. She knew he disliked her because it wasn't cool to say your biggest competion was an twelve year old girl.

As she walked up to her house she braced herself for a miserable evening. Between her parents sympathetic looks and remarks, Han jibes about the game, and worst of all the taunting of Thrackan Sal-Solo things would be very interesting. She leaned forward to open the front door and smacked right into her worst nightmare.

"Well look who finally managed to drag her carcass home" taunted a sneering Thrackan.

"Get out of my way scumbucket" snapped Elaina.

"Oh, touchy touchy, Waz the matter baby. Get your butt whooped."

"Well if your older cousin would act his age that might not of happened."

"Funny, his side of the story is that you need to find your place in the world. As much as I'm loath to agree with the worm...I do" jibed Thrackan.

Elaina rolled her eyes and muttered, "Frith in a house." This kid so needed to get a life.

She brushed past and sautered into their poor excuse for a living room. Her aunt, uncle, dad, and mom seemed to be deep in disscusion. Leaving them alone, Elaina made for the stairs.

"Elainaaa" Trina Solo called.

"You've tracked all that mud in. Why on earth can't you act like a lady."

"Sorry Mom" Elaina shouted over her shoulder, before she bounded up the stairs. Why couldn't her mother leave her alone. After all she was the one who had insisted on Han taking her with him in the first place. Besides, who had time to be proper in the slums of Corellia. Personally, Elaina wondered if there was some secret reason that her mother was so bugged by her tomboy behavior.


	5. Princess?

**Princess?**

1264

What in the world could she have done now? Elaina wondered. She couldn't think of anything that she had done out of the ordinary. Her mother had paged her five minutes ago to tell her to come home, not that she really minded. Life had been pretty boring since the team had split. It was the being in trouble that she minded.

As she bounded up the steps leading to their hovel, she wondered for the hundredth time what she was going to do with her life. So few options, most weren't appealing, but the ones that were...well, not really available.

She walked into the living room surprised to see her parents, Shal and Trina, her aunt and uncle, Han, and Thrackan all crowded into the small space. Han looked confused, Thrackan was trying to act smug, and the rest of the group was looking worried.

"Elaina, please sit down," said Shal, "There is something we need to tell you all. Trina, can you hand them the cases."

Elaina and Han's mom handed a two cases to Han and Elaina. Elaina was shocked, each case was made of ebony and embedded with Corusca diamonds. There was a tiny key hole in the front and the case was rather small.

Elaina watched as her mother pulled a necklace over her head and held up a tiny key that was hanging on to the end of it. Elaina felt a small tremor of uneasiness. As long as Elaina could remember her mother had never taken off her necklace. Something must be wrong, very wrong. Elaina began to wish that she was anywhere but in that room.

Watching in silent trepidation, Elaina watched her mother unlock each of the cases. Staring at her now unlocked case, Elaina waited for what would come next.

"Open them," whispered her mother.

No one moved an inch.

"Go on, listen to Trina," prodded her aunt.

Slowly both of the kids opened their cases. Elaina gasped in a mixture of wonder and shock. There lying in front of her on a soft cushion of plush velvet lay the most wonderous and beautiful ring she'd ever seen. Simplistic and not heavily adorned, the ring was wonderfully crafted and seemed to glow with an inner light. Not knowing what to do and not daring to pick it up lest it should vanish, she turned and looked at her family.

Hans meanwhile had been going through different emotions than Elaina. His case also held a ring in it, more masculine then Elainas, but still a ring. Glancing at his parents with a combination of disgust and disappointment he blurted out what he was thinking.

"A ring?! That's it? All this fuss and seriousness over a dumb ring. These are obviously worth a lot. Why didn't you sell them years ago and buy something useful. If you couldn't think of anything I could have given you a list of things."

"Shut it Han," growled Elaina.

"If you two will stop talking for a minute I will explain," sighed Shal.

"Explain away, but I don't think I'm going to change my opinion," muttered Han.

"When Han was only two the Empire came into power," began Shal. "We supported the Republic and because of this the Emperor would've destroyed us."

"Hold on a minute," said Thrackan. "I'm a little confused. Why would the Emperor care what you belive? And what does all of this have to do with the rings?"

"If you'd hold on a minute I'll tell you," replied Shal. "Well I don't really know how to tell you three. So I guess I'm just going to come out with it. The Emperor cared so much because your mother and I held a good deal of influence over the Corellians."

"Is this a joke? We're a bunch of nobodies!" queried Han.

After a moment of silence, Elaina quietly said, "Aren't we?"

"No sweetie, we're not." Trina said, with a trace of a sad smile.

"Then what or who are we," asked Thrackan.

"We are the rulers of Corellia. Or at least we were before we went into hiding."

There was a short pause, Elaina almost shouted, "What does that mean?"

"It means that you are the princess of Corellia and Han is the Crown Prince. If both of you should die without having children, then Thrackan will be ruler. The rings mark you as Prince and Princess. You must not show them to anyone until the time is right. That time may not come in my lifetime or even yours," replied Shal.

"I don't believe it. It's not possible," said Han defiantly.

Looking into her parents face, she said softly to Han, "No, it's true. Why would they lie? What do they stand to gain?"

"I think we all need to have the rest of the day to ourselves and sleep on it. This is something that must not be taken lightly and has probably come as a shock. I'm thinking you all will need time to absorb all or this." suggested Thrackan's father.

Nodding in agreement, the group dispersed. Thrackan to the local club, the adults to the kitchen, Han to his room, and Elaina to her ship.

Breaking into a run, Elaina tried to escape reality. Faster, faster, legs pumping, heart throbbing, she ran like she'd never run before. The wind whistling past her cleared her head and she seemed to be running in slow motion. To all other eyes, Elaina looked to be traveling at an extraordinary speed. Almost some thought, something that no human should be able to do.

As she traveled Elaina processed her thoughts and mentally filed away everything that she had learned. Coming to a halt, Elaina was suprised to find herself in the hanger where her little ship was docked. Usually she had to steal aboard a transport to get from her home to here. But somehow she'd made it here in half an hour. Shaking her head in puzzlement, she decided that there was no explanation.

Climbing into the little spacecraft, she sat down and wondered why she had ended up here. Leaning back, she sighed deeply and muttered. "Life is just going to fast."

"You can't slow down life, but you can at least control what you do with your life," said a male voice.

Whirling around, Elaina saw the same man that she had talked with before.

"What do you want and how did you get into my ship?!" snarled the outraged girl.

"How I got in is my business and I think you know what I want," Jian replied unmoved by Elaina's sharpness.

Elaina did know, but she wasn't sure what to tell this man. Deciding on the stalling tactic, she said cooly, "I don't even know your name."

"It's Jian."

Ok, so that didn't last long, she thought. Running her hands through her hair, Elaina sighed. Shrugging to herself she contemplated that if she didn't like it then she could always quit. Besides, it would give her something to do.

"I'll do it. When do we start?"

"Now."

"What do you mean now?!"

A slight smile crept across Jian's face, "I mean lock up your ship and lets move."

Elaina took a deep breath and was about to argue when a sharp voice cut her off.

"NO! Don't argue, just do it. That will be your first lesson."

"Fine," Elaina muttered through gritted teeth.

So it began.


	6. Training

**Training**

"Again."

Gritting her teeth, Elaina repeated the simple, but tedious excercise. She was sick of hearing that stupid word. It was getting on her nerves. Jian never said much, he explained what he wished Elaina to do and the only other thing she heard from him was "again." She never knew if she failed a task or if she aced it. She wanted to know how she was doing, but Jian never told her.

Jian's voice cut through her thoughts,"Again."

Elaina ran at the wall, ran up it as far as she could, then did a back flip off the wall, and landed solidly on the ground. She sat there her knees bent as she crouched, not moving from where she'd landed.

"Again," came the calm statement.

At that Elaina straightened herself to her full height, defiance flashing in her eyes, "Why?" It was more demanding the questioning.

"Because I said."

"That just means that there isn't a reason and you don't want to tell me that," she replied, thrusting out her chin in determination. "I always do these pointless excercises that you tell me to do. You never tell me if I've passed or not. Or how good I'm doing. You never say _anything_!" Crossing her arms, she dared him with her eyes to counter what she'd said. Puzzlement filled her eyes as she saw a small smile creep across Jian's face. As if he was the one with the upper hand instead of her.

"Very good young one. Not that you question my reasons or authority, but that you've seen something. Life is not always about passing or not passing. For example, if I were to get in a fight and lose that doesn't mean that I've failed."

For some reason Elaina didn't pounce on this comment. Jian was finally talking and she wanted to hear what he had to say.

"If I were to learn something from that fight and improve, then I haven't failed. I know this concept is foriegn to you, but in time I hope that the question will not be, "Did I pass?" but "How can I improve?" He let this new idea sink in, yes this had been the first step to success.

Elaina went home that night thinking, she'd never looked at situtuations that way before. Her mind grasped the concept though. Even when her spaceball team had won a game, she could always see that they could improve. Had those wins been victories? Had the last game been a loss? A smile slowly spread across her face as she realized that she liked this idea. She could excel, not only win, but be the best. Better then any man alive, she just needed to push herself.

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Almost done, she could feel it. So close...time's running out. THERE! Elaina sat back on her heels and grinned at the disabled explosive in front of her.

"How was that?" she asked.

Looking impassively down at her Jian replied with a question, "What if the bomb had been even a second sooner? What if you would've been running for your very life while trying to disable it? What if you would have had people firing at you?"

"Oh, that would've been a problem," scrunching up her face she peered up at him and asked, "Well how do I fix that?"

"Lets forget about the bomb for a minute. You need to learn how to multitask. How to accomplish something when other things are going on around you, what if you needed to fly and eat at the same time? That's a more easy situation, but you'll find more instances where you'll need to multitask then when you can devote your time to one thing."

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Elaina stilled her racing breath and fought for inward calm. With her back pressed against a tall box, she began to race ideas through her head. The large room she now occupied held barriers of all sorts. Seeker droids prowled the room searching for the young girl. In the center of the room was a stack of obstacles leading up towards the ceiling, which held a small glowing orb. The goal of this task was to grab the orb and return to where she'd started without being caught.

Originally she'd only had to grab the orb, but Jian reminded her that once she'd accomplished a task didn't mean all her enemies would then leave her alone. She could still hear his voice in her mind, _"Some enemies, once made, will hunt you forever."_

Eyes darting around the dimly lit room, Elaina pondered her next move. The only tool she'd been given was her grappling hook and line. A small sound off to her left alerted her to a seeker droids presence. Her mind, now trained to react without hesitation, took over and she began to move as if she weren't in control but simply watching an intricate dance.

Within no time Elaina had vaulted to the orb and as she stepped onto the small pad where she'd started, she felt a sense of satisfaction.

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Slamming the joystick to the right, Elaina cleared the towering building. She could almost hear Jians reproach in her mind. Her reckless way of driving often caused her a lecture. After flying with her brother and friends, she'd picked up on the style and didn't really want to relenquish it. She completed a loop over another building and nosedived for the ground, pushing the vehicle to its max. Pulling up at the last second, she slid to a stop in front of her teachers feet.

"You have a talent. A strange one, but one none the less. How you can cut things close is amazing, bordering on unhumanlike. Someday it will come in handy. Just remember not to push your vehicle beyond its capabilities to often. Or you'll find yourself without a ship."

A rougish smile crept across Elainas face. Compliments were rare, especially when she should have gotten a reprimand.


End file.
